Moving Boxes
by chaelip
Summary: Judy knew Nick had a lot of layers to his personality. That fox had a lot to hide. When Judy casually asks if she can stop by his place after work, he refuses. It's time for Judy to investigate and find out what exactly Nick is hiding, and why she can never come to his home. She never guessed that he didn't have one.
The first time Judy asked Nick if she could come over, she didn't think much about his response. Yes, she was offended that Nick didn't want her over, and she was a little hurt that he cut her off with a taut, short 'no', but she guessed that it was a calm, safe place for him and he just didn't want guests over.

There were millions of reasons and excuses why she couldn't come over. Perhaps his place wasn't clean. Perhaps he had a flatmate that hated Rabbits. Perhaps he just really didn't want to see Judy after work. (The last one hurt a bit.)

But there were reasons; and so when Nick said, "No," Judy accepted it.

The second time Judy asked Nick if she could come over, she really needed to come over.

"Um, hey, Nick? My Aunt is coming in from Bunnyburrow for a few days and I'm letting her stay in my apartment. I was just wondering if I could stay with you for a while until she leaves? It'll only be a few days, just so she can see why everyone makes a big fuss about Zootopia. It'll be like a sleepover!" She said, smiling warmly at the idea and vacantly tapping her pencil on her friend's desk, thinking about how much fun a sleepover would be.

Nick looked up from his filing for half a second with a blank look in his eye. "No," he said stonily, making Judy's smile fade into a frown.  
"Why not? Look, Nick, it's just for a few days, and I really need a place to stay!"

The fox took a long, deep breath, and after a moment set down his file. "Judy, I'll pay for a hotel. Don't worry about it."

By this point, Judy was scowling. "If it's because I'm a Rabbit-"

"Seriously?" Nick had one eyebrow raised at the unfair accusation. Judy knew it was a low blow and inwardly cursed at herself for bringing animal races into the conversation, especially knowing a piece of Nick's past, but she continued, the words spilling out of her mouth before she could stop him.

"Then what is it? Why can't I just come over for a day? When are you going to start acting like a friend, Nick? I really need this, and the least you could do is let me sleep on the floor or something. In fact, that'll be great! I'll just bring a sleeping bag and I can-"

"Judy, stop. You can't come over."

Then Judy stomped back to her office in frustration, wondering why she even wanted to stay with Nick so much. She could easily get a hotel or stay with Mrs. Otterton- with whom she had become close friends with- and yet it wasn't the fact that she couldn't stay with Nick, it was the fact that Nick wouldn't even let her come over. What if this got in the way of the job somehow?

Judy's brow furrowed as she hopped into her seat and started clicking a pen, anxiously turning back to her own files and starting her report.

That night she got a postal letter from a stranger, withholding thirty-five Zootopian dollars (some with small rips, some with splotches of an unknown surface) and a slip of paper that had been torn from a newspaper with a single word scribbled on it in Sharpie Marker: Sorry.

She immediately collapsed on her bed, clutching the paper and wadded-up bills, tears welling in her violet eyes. She felt awful for saying what she did to Nick- he probably had some good explanation for not wanting her over and she had been a complete jerk. And now he was apologizing and sending her money. Far too much. Enough for her to stay at a popular hotel for five days.

The next day at work, Nick had returned to normal, acting as if the entire ordeal hadn't occurred at all.  
"Hey, Carrots. You're here early for a little bunny, huh?"

Judy sighed and hopped into her seat. "Nick, thank you."

Nick paused, and for a second Judy wondered if he was going to respond or not. After a moment he looked back down at his paperwork. "No problem," He mumbled, before quickly raising his voice and changing the subject. "Anyway, you going to tell me why you're here so early? I like your new wrist-guards, too. Shiny."

Said-Bunny just sighed again in resignation and told him where she got her new uniform pieces before going to get coffee in the break room.

The third time Judy asked if she could come over, she was determined. And it wasn't exactly 'asking', because Nick was the one who took her there.

Nick felt his head hit the metal wall with a crack and he groaned, glaring at the huge rhino who was making a daring escape. Nick watched through blurry eyes as the rhino got away and Judy's frantic face blocked his vision.

"Oh my god- Nick! Are you okay?" She was nearly screaming, making his head pound.

"Yeah, fine. Judy, stop yelling, jeez." He managed to wheeze out, climbing to his feet with the world spinning beneath his feet. Judy helped stable him. "Nick, the suspect got away! What do we do? And now you're injured and we don't have any evidence-"

Nick shushed her with one paw and stumbled across the alleyway. "I've got evidence. It's in a file- I've got security footage and audio evidence- ah!" Nick winced as his head rung again. Judy was nearly jumping up and down, however.

"You've got evidence! Where?!"

The fox sighed and continued stumbling down the street with Judy chasing after him, making citizens look their way in confusion and concern. Judy frowned as she saw a hint of blood smeared against Nick's fur just behind his ear, but she followed him to wherever he was going.

"It's... um, it's at my place."

Judy's jaw dropped and she nearly tripped on her own feet and the pavement. The two ran along the streets for about five minutes until Judy pulled on Nick's arm hesitantly, honestly wondering if he hit his head a little too hard.

"Nick, where are we going?" Judy looked around at the torn down, abandoned buildings around them and slightly ghetto, slightly sketchy alleyways that made Judy's fur itch anxiously.  
Nick turned towards her and stopped running for a moment. "Alright, Judy, I need you to listen to me. Like- this is my place, and I really need you to not say anything for a few minutes, okay?" He sounded nervous. Judy blinked.

"Um, okay?"

Nick took a deep breath and grabbed Judy's paw before pulling her into an alleyway and into a clearing behind the buildings. There were two large dumpsters with some sort of red substance dripping out of them. Judy's hold on Nick's paw tightened in horror and Nick quietly whispered something into her ear. "Not blood. Popsicle waste."

Pawpsicle.

It suddenly hit Judy like a train. This is where Nick lived.

Judy watched as Nick dug around a small area of trash. There was a large cardboard moving box by the side with a torn up, worn blanket inside. Neatly hung up by a clothesline was Nick's signature look: the green shirt, the slacks, even the tie. It was hanging so it wouldn't touch the filthy floor.

She couldn't help but gape. Nick lives in an alleyway? In this part of town?

Nick suddenly popped back out of the pile, holding up a relatively clean(ish) file triumphantly. "Got it!" He stumbled out of the pile and Judy was suddenly reminded that he might have a concussion from hitting his head. She shook off the shock and took the file, finding the audio tape inside and forcing a grin. "Great, okay! Chief Bogo needs to see this!"

Case solved. Nick was in the hospital for another day, but otherwise the evidence was concrete and the rhino-thief had been neutralized.

Judy, on the other hand, felt even worse after seeing the conditions Nick lived in. Everything was starting to click together.

Why Nick never let her come over to his 'home', why he only wore two outfits- his uniform given to him from the ZPD and his original green shirt-striped tie outfit. Why Nick always showed up to work early, why he always left late, why he had backaches and sleep problems, why he ravaged food from the ZPD pantry sometimes.

Judy had nearly cried at how she had acted. And yet she was still confused- with all the money he made and still makes now, he really should have enough for basic needs, if not enough for a good house and luxury items.  
She kept that thought in mind as she sat next to Nick in his hospital bed.

As he was waking up.

"J'dy?" Nick managed to slur out, uncoordinated mixing with sleep and his probably-splitting headache. Judy smirked. "Right here, dumb fox. You awake? You've been out of it for the entire morning, I'm surprised you're up this fast. You got a nasty blow to the head."

Nick blinked, suddenly more alert. "Oh, god... you saw it, didn't you?"

"What? 'Your place'?"

The fox groaned and sank back into the medical bed. "Great. Sorry about that, Carrots."

Judy put a soft paw on his arm that was still hooked up to an IV. "Nick, you should've told me. It's nothing to be ashamed about, but being homeless is dangerous! I'm worried about you going back to that place. There are animals out there who hurt people living on the streets. And that part of town is pretty... well, scary. Nick, why didn't you say anything?"

"Look, I just don't like talking about it. It's a complicated situation. I know that you thought I was some rich con-artist-"

Judy interrupted him sharply. "You said you made a hundred bucks a day."

Nick snorted. "Not my exact words nor phrasing, but it's close enough. Anyway, um..." Nick shifted in the bed, awkwardly looking down at his paws. "It's my mother. She's still alive, but she's been diagnosed with cancer for a few years now. She's never been one to give up, so I pay for her medication and surgeries. My Dad left a long time ago and we couldn't pay for the house, so I'm all she's got. And Chemotherapy isn't exactly cheap, especially in Zootopia. Every dollar I make goes towards her bills. With the exception of a hotel room." Nick winked, but it seemed forced.

"Oh, Nick..." Judy said sympathetically, tears welling in her eyes for the fourth time that day. "I'm so sorry, Nick. But really, if anything else is going on, you can talk to me about it. I'm not going to judge you or anything."

Nick shrugged. "It's fine. There's no way you could've known. Honestly, please, just don't tell anyone at ZPD, I don't want to be seen as a pity story, kay?"

"My tiny bunny lips are sealed, Nick."

"Delivery for Nicholas Wilde!"

Nick frowned from curled up inside his box. He stood up, still wearing his officer uniform even though it was nearly midnight.

He walked out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk and saw a mailman awkwardly looking around the forgotten part of the city, holding a letter. "Nicholas Wilde?"

He stepped forward. "Yeah? That's me." The mailman seemed to sigh in relief. "Oh, thank you! Um, letter for you!" Nick took the envelope and waved a quick goodbye before slinking back into the alleyway and opening the letter.

Open flat for sale, room 102A! One occupant for cheap rent and good breakfast! Noisy neighbours but comfortable bed and very inexpensive.

Nick continued reading the advertisement and raised an eyebrow at the address. It was in the same area as Judy's flat. In fact, it was right next to Judy's flat... 102A, huh? One hundred dollars a month? Nice. Nick grinned and decided it was time to move. He could probably afford it.

He turned back to his well-known alleyway and looked at the cardboard box and the few items he had lying around and the outfit still hanging on the clothesline. He felt another grin rise on his face and he was nearly giddy.

"Looks like I have some things to pack."

And that is how Nick's sleeping-box became a moving-box.

The next day Judy heard quiet snoring coming from the flat to the left of hers, and she smiled. Nick was safely off the streets.


End file.
